Timber Flooring
 Article provided by timberflooringservices(.com.au)

Timber floors for homes are quite appealing. They are durable requiring little care for their maintenance. A timber floor with well sealed joints is spill and stain resistant as well as resistant to most chemicals. Because of its relatively low allergenic properties, this floor is often recommended for people having some allergies or suffering from asthma. It is available in a wide variety of styles, wood types and designs; all these factors affect the timber flooring prices.

There are a number of styles of timber floors that you can choose from depending on your preference. You can select the structural solid plank style, in which the planks slot together, the parquetry style, or the floating floor style in which a wooden floor can be overlaid on the existing floor.

Structural timber floors are the most traditional type of timber boards that are laid on joists and bearers. It is recommended to hire the services of professionals for the installation of this floor because a lot of care is required in proper installation of boards and ensure sufficient ventilation below the floor to prevent warping of the boards. There is a large variation in the cost of boards depending on the thickness of the board its grade and species.

In parquetry style of flooring, wood pieces are arranged in a geometric mosaic, such as triangular, square or lozenges making the floor look quite elegant and appealing to eye. In this type of flooring, timber such as oak, walnut, lime, cherry, maple, pine, etc are selected in contrasting colours. Sometimes, mahogany that is rich in colour is also selected, which makes it a little expensive. They are quite long lasting and need very little maintenance. It has been quite popular style of flooring since ages and is ideally suited for homes. It is advisable to get the work done through expert professionals who can make the finished job look really beautiful.

Floating timber flooring is simply laid above the existing solid floor, which may be tiles, concrete, particle board or cork. It provides good noise insulation because of its installation over an underlay, but costs more than the structured solid plank. There is often no timber in these floors and are made from laminated faux timber finishes, and such floors are called laminate floors, which cost much less than the floating floors made from real timber. Thus, the timber flooring cost can be determined by its unique features. A floating flooring made from real timber typically consists of a very thin layer of hardwood or softwood that is bonded to high-density fibreboard. In contrast to laminate floors, these real timber floors can be sanded and refurbished, if required.

For installation of any kind of timber floor for your home, a lot of expertise is required from your timber floor installers. Depending on the kind of floor you want, there are different procedures required to be followed during timber flooring installation so that there are no problems later on. For instance, some wood products need a certain degree of acclimatization to the area where they will be installed. If the underlying floor is concrete, a plastic lining is required to moisture proof the floor to be placed above. It is always better to get the floor installed by experts from a reputable timber flooring company, who have the right experience and technical know-how to deal with various issues that need to be taken care during the installation process.

One of the biggest drawbacks of timber flooring is the surface deterioration of the floor due to improperly sealed joints. Moreover, areas that are exposed to high traffic require stripping at every 4-5 year interval. They need to be inspected by expert professionals at frequent intervals of time to ensure there is no squeaking or creaking of the floor, which may be indicative of a more serious problem. It is advisable that you get the floor inspected by expert professionals who can detect right in the initial stages the source of the problem, whether it is due to rot caused by moisture, poorly supported joists, or some other problem and suggest corrective measures to minimize the damage.